News

ANALYSIS: Is it Live or is it Simulated? Only F-35 Knows for Sure

The
Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is not just one of the most expensive
and complex endeavours in military acquisition history, it’s also an
evolution in the way military pilots train to fly jets.

Developed during the computer networking revolution of the 2000s,
everything from the way the aircraft is maintained to the way it fights
is deeply interconnected, as are its “full-mission” simulators.

When a squad of F-35s fly into combat for the first time, the pilots
will have already performed that exact mission against those target
objectives dozens, if not hundreds, of times in simulators, replicating
everything from electronic jamming to weapon effects on surface-to-air
missile sites.

Not only does the F-35’s full-mission simulator
provide greater fidelity than previous generations of fighter trainers,
it also compensates for the fact it is too expensive to equip every test
and training range with the full complement of threats it would be
likely to go up against. The only places an F-35 can truly wreak havoc
with every kinetic and non-kinetic tool in its beyond-visual-range
arsenal, will be in the virtual simulator or in combat.

It’s not
just belt-tightening that has Lightning II pilots completing 45% to 55%
of their initial qualification flights in the simulator – it’s the
next-generation fidelity and risk-free exposure to the full range of
things that can go wrong or harm you, particularly on the
electromagnetic spectrum.

Each simulator carries the most recent
software load, or operational flight programme (OFP), so it can most
accurately replicate the capabilities and handling qualities of the
aircraft as it is concurrently developed, tested and fielded through
various block upgrades.

The simulators arrive in groups of two or
four, and will all eventually be plugged into the vast network of
American and allied training simulators at air bases and training
centres around the world, bringing F-35s into the same virtual
environment as F-16s, F-15s, Boeing C-17s and others.

According to
one air force official, the “Holy Grail” of simulator training will
come with the introduction of live, virtual and constructive (LVC)
networking between training devices and aircraft, with blue forces going
against aggressors at every level for full-spectrum combat training.

Global Expansion

A dozen nations are seeking upwards of 3,000 F-35s up to 2030, and
Lockheed is scaling up significantly over the next five years to
accommodate that demand. Though the top priority this year remains the
US Air Force’s initial operational capability declaration for the
conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) F-35A variant in August; the UK,
Israel, Norway, Turkey, Australia and Italy are also preparing to
establish their first combat-ready squadrons.